Teaching Strategies – Stay the Course

Let me develop an all too often scenario. You have just started work and you have some fabulous teaching strategies to employ.

Johnny is gurgling and making the most bizarre noises. You cruise by and use one of the least intrusive teaching strategies to deal with disruptive behaviours - the rule reminder.

And then it starts!

Teaching Strategies to Stop Power Struggles.

You give Johnny a rule reminder by quietly reminding Johnny that making noises is disruptive to others. This is one of the teaching strategies you commonly use for disruptive students and it is has worked in the past.

As you walk away and resume teaching, Johnny mumbles something to the effect about you being not nice (maybe worse) and continues to groan, call out and generally being annoying.

The kids who are sitting nearby suddenly turn their focus to Johnny. Or rather they turn their focus to see what YOU are going to do about Johnny.

Now is the turning point. You are going to need all your effective teaching strategies to stop this situation from blowing up in your face.

You could turn to Johnny and start the battle. "What did you say to me?"

Of course you could really fire a round across his bow by repeating it but louder. "WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME?"

The power struggle is on!

The line is drawn in the sand. Some teachers will lock and load and start blasting!

Didn't we learn anything from Vietnam?

Obviously, not wanting to look weak, you respond to the non-compliance in increasingly more adamant tones, demanding compliance.

However. also not wanting to look weak the offending student won't back down in front of other kids, Johnny mutters something really nasty. Something about YOU.

These teaching strategies tend to create a race for the last word.

Now there really has to be a loser. This has now ed into a battle with two distinct sides.

Neither side wants to back down, things escalate to the point where the student is sent out. When I was principal, these students ended in my office.

The teaching strategies employed here developed a need for a winner. And the winner is the one who looks less bad.

I suggest that, as common as these teaching strategies are for dealing with disruptive, they don't work.

The Most Effective Teaching Strategies for dealing with disruptive students.

When my kids were teenagers their last word during any disputes was often some puffy response like, "Whatever. You don't understand." This would often rile the shackles of my parenthood, But usually this followed some sort of tacit compliance. They would do what was ask - albeit begrudgingly.

The challenge for me was to stay focused on the outcome without getting trapped by their attitude. It is, after all, just "huffing and puffing"

Like classroom teaching strategies, this situation holds true when dealing with difficult students.

The best teaching strategies are those that stop the behaviour so you can return to teaching.

Stay the course.

When students become disruptive keep the focus on the disruptive behaviour so you can get back to teaching.

Stop the battle from escalating by dealing with secondary behaviours.

You can always deal with secondary behaviours later.

It is more important to let the class know that your primary goal is to value add to their day.

Your teaching strategies - Set Expectations

" I want you all to know that my most important job is to teach. I want everyone to help me do that. I am going to stop anyone who stops you from learning. If you don't want to learn right now you must not stop others from learning. I think teaching is most important to helping you learn. Is there anything you don't understand?"

"If you stop someone from learning there will be consequences. But I am not going to stop teaching. I will talk about the consequences to you privately. It may look as if I am ignoring your misbehaviour. I'm not. But I am not going to give up our important learning time."

After class talk about the behaviour but don't start a battle.

"You behaviour tells me that I am not doing a very good job getting you interested. I can't let you disrupt the class. I am going to work harder, and you can help by letting me know what you are willing to do differently. "

What teaching strategies do you use to resolve conflicts with your students?